Maya

Her half drawn veil through which peeped her crimson lips,
Gazing eyes catching glimpses of her sculpted hips.
On her eyes fell reflections of the paling skies,
Laying below the dots of vermilion 'round her brow.

Sat perched on beds of marigold,
hair bejeweled with strings of jasmine,
The whiffs of which in the air condensed.
Her new life stretched in the parting of her head,
'twas all done with the tying of a thread.

Even the clouds beneath her feet were in a celestial dance,
Stars and even the moons had come to take a glance.
Her breath painting the heavens in a plethora of shades,
Burgundies and scarlets, never to fade.

The sounds of the drums pervaded the winds,
Hear ye! Have come the palanquin bearers.
Her aural lights shed a new tone,
She goes, to no longer belong to her father's home !

-Saakshi Sharma

Wonder!

There's music in my soul,
Even the grey's feel whole.
Butterflies on my skin,
Ok 'f I lose or win.

The skies have never been bluer,
This will last I'm sure.
Be running as fast as i can,
Play my game, hold my hand!

With me, all are dance,
It's time to take a chance!
It's time to go away,
Time to fall and play!

Even are crazy the winds,
Hear their word, take a hint.
Go out, lose a bet!
It's just not over yet !!

-Saakshi Sharma

The voices

This hour, this hour so still

Hanging thin in pieces of tranquil

The air dense with the whiffs of untame

The scents will never be the same

Somewhere meanwhile that eerie night

Lay shades between the black and white

Within those shades a bottle broke

From which those spectral voices rose

Skrieks and screams, sounds on a rise,

Muffling out the whispers and sighs.

Blinding those men who could see -

Making them fall to their knee.

They turned up at every nook and bend

Burying things God-sent

Impending doom lingering

A dark soul withering

Like the crumbling smoke

Soaring up from the morgue.

These voices, they will never stop

I go to sleep.  I layoff.